


Animal Mechanicals

by Im_The_Doctor (Bofur1)



Category: Transformers: Prime
Genre: Animal Traits, Anthropology, Best Friends, Character Study, Fluff and Angst, Hidden Depths, Introspection, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Overprotective, Secrets, Unsolved Mysteries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-17
Updated: 2015-01-17
Packaged: 2018-03-07 22:13:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3185102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bofur1/pseuds/Im_The_Doctor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Miko ponders each member of Team Prime and tries to give them an animal counterpart, though for some she might dig a tiny bit too deep.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Animal Mechanicals

“Ugh, that was lame!” Miko sighed, clicking out of the internet window she had opened.

“What’re you doing?” Jack asked as he came up the stairs, only just arriving due to a late work day.

“I took a quiz online to see which animal I would be,” Miko explained as she turned to face him, wrinkling her nose. “I got a _crocodile_!”

Jack paused, seeming to study her for a moment before chuckling quietly.

“What?” Miko snapped.

“It…actually kinda works,” Jack said sheepishly, causing Miko’s glare to darken further. “C’mon, Miko, think about it—they’re really tough and self-reliant and have sharp teeth! What else could you want to be?”

As hard as she tried not to, Miko considered his words and was forced to admit that maybe the quiz had been more accurate than she’d believed at first. The ground bridge flashing open brought her out of her thoughts and she jumped to her feet, leaning against the rail and calling to the Bots who were coming through.

“Hey! How’d it go?”

“For once it went well,” Arcee declared, sounding surprised but pleased as she nodded toward Bulkhead, who held up a chunk of energon. “We got there before the Cons did; didn’t even have a run-in with them!”

“Sweet!” Miko cried, holding out a hand for Arcee to high-five as she passed, but the two-wheeler just smiled and brushed past, the blue winglets on her back twitching—

 _Almost like a butterfly_. Miko paused, considering, and then shook her head slightly. A butterfly was too fragile for Arcee. Maybe…Thinking back to the first time she’d seen Jack’s partner transform, Miko remembered how Arcee did this little hop and instantly knew. _Arcee’s a praying mantis!_

Giggling a little, Miko moved her gaze to Bumblebee, who was buzzing at Bulkhead, rocking restlessly back and forth on his feet. He had been named well, Miko decided, for he truly was like an excited worker bee, dependable and pretty cute but equipped with a nasty sting if provoked too far.

“Miko, get a picture of this new scar I got!” Bulkhead said eagerly, puffing out his chest so she could see the scrape near his Autobot sigil.

Miko fished out her phone, asking, “If you got there before the Cons, how’d you get that?”

Bulkhead laughed self-consciously. “I kinda tripped when I came through the ground bridge. Of course I landed on top of the energon, so technically it wasn’t a bad thing! I got the mission done.”

Scoffing and shaking her head, Miko leaned forward and snapped a photo of her beaming friend, studying it afterward to ensure the good quality. As she looked closer, she couldn’t help but wonder what animal Bulkhead could be.

 _Helpful but independent, honest, likes kids, big as big can get—hippo_. Miko snapped her phone shut with one hand and clapped the other over her mouth to stifle her laughter.

“What?” Bulkhead protested.

“Oh, nothing,” Miko snickered. “It’s just that the thought of you falling on your face is funny!”

“Of all the people to tease me—” Bulkhead rolled his optics dramatically. “I’ve been betrayed!”

“That’s not even the worst of it,” Miko assured him maniacally. She could just picture Bulk falling off the bank of a swamp so he could wallow in the mud, but she decided to keep that to herself. Instead she lowered her voice conspiratorially and commented, “You should go on solo missions more often, Bulk. You could’ve just gone and gotten that energon yourself; you literally landed on it! Not even Optimus was any use—”

“Bulkhead, give me that energon so I can analyze it,” Ratchet cut in, holding out a hand.

“Sure, Ratch.” Bulkhead nervously placed the chunk in the medic’s waiting palm, wondering if the Prime’s closest friend had heard Miko’s comment. Ratchet didn’t even glance at him, so he released his vents.

Miko, however, froze as Ratchet half-turned in her direction, optics narrowed and voice curt. “And as for Optimus’ usefulness, I don’t think you would want me to lecture you on how many times he has pulled Bulkhead— _all of us_ —out of scrap. Would you?”

The last part, colder and quieter, wasn’t really a question and Miko knew it, but her racing mind could capture only one word:

 _Badger_.

It was perfect for Ratchet. He made up for his smaller, stouter size by being defensive and brusque and rather…patriotic, in his own abnormal way.

“I don’t think she needs that, old friend,” Optimus said calmly, placing a gentle but staying hand on Ratchet’s shoulder. Miko watched them share a look, Ratchet’s gaze defiant and protective, Optimus’ the same.

 _What is he protecting him from?_ Miko wondered, noting how Optimus’ fingers flexed and Ratchet’s shoulder beneath them slowly relaxed. As it often did, Miko’s mind drifted to the fact that each of these beings was hundreds and hundreds of years old. Optimus was obviously the oldest and Ratchet the second-oldest. It seemed to be with them as it was with older siblings in her own race—they didn’t have many secrets from each other but it was all mystery to the younger ones.

 _They’ve had a longer time to_ make _secrets_. Miko felt a frown coming on and did her best to wipe it away. Sooner or later she would manage to find the uncensored versions of Prime and his medic.

 _So Optimus is protective and smart and secretive and proud. He’s really big, inside and out, but…nice. Gentle_. Trying to come up with more adjectives for the emotionally-blank-slated Prime, Miko felt her head start to hurt. That made it hard to focus, much to her dismay. She couldn’t give up now; Optimus was the only one left! She squinted hard at the Prime as he turned from Ratchet and started to walk away, his steps plodding heavily on the ground and leaving dust from the energon site.

Gentle—proud—dusty in the old, smart way—

“Elephant!” she gasped, blushing as all optics whirled toward her.

“What about them?” Arcee asked.

Miko stuttered a little before shrugging nervously and announcing, “If I say, Ratchet’ll probably break the energon over my head.”

For the sake of the energon, everyone decided to go about their business.


End file.
